Ethics package to go before city council later this month

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Calgary city council members might soon need to reveal what property they own, which gifts they have received and what meetings they attend.

On Tuesday, a council committee approved a new ethics package, which will put more information into the public domain.

It's part of Mayor Naheed Nenshi's campaign for greater transparency at city hall.

"I'm very pleased that we're finally moving forward on this. I thought it was very important for us to have better disclosure policies, better ethics policies in place," he said.

If council ratifies the ethics package later this month, council itself will have fewer secrets. The policy calls for a registry to list the land council members own, they'll have to report gifts worth more than $150 and list the people they have had meetings with.

The changes were approved unanimously in committee, but Ald. Gord Lowe opposes politicians being forced to report what land their spouse or children own.

"It's not related. If a matter comes up involving that property in council, I have a duty under the [Municipal Government Act] to declare the conflict and to leave," he said.

But Nenshi said Calgarians should know this information so they have confidence that city politicians act in an ethical manner.